Futureperfect? Not yet, but one day...
Been thinking a lot lately about where I want to be, what I want to do with myself in the next few years... something I don't usually worry about unless forced to. But events of late have begun hammering home the fact that if I don't start planning now, I'll never get out of the minimum-wage rut I'm in. I need to work towards a future of some kind, or at least make some effort towards making my present a little more tolerable, and worthwhile. Subway is never going to get me anywhere; the best I can hope for from them is to get my certificate 2, possibly a cert 3 if I stay long enough, and maybe a manager's job - which I can do, and would do, but 35-40 hours a week at $13.50 an hour still ain't what I'd call a future. A stepping stone, perhaps, but not something I particularly aspire to. The certificate, while useful, is much along the same lines. Something nice to have, but in and of itself useless; essentially, it'd get me slightly easier access to any 'retail' or 'customer service' job, so I might end up a salesman selling fridges or toasters or whatever... but still, not a future. A rung higher up the ladder, perhaps (What isn't higher than fast food, after all?) but not where I want to be. It's becoming clear that in order to get anywhere I need to go back to uni, and graduate... the question is, what do I want to graduate /with/? I'm about half-way through an agriculture degree. It'll be at least two more years of study before I get that, and first I have to convince the university to let me back in, which may take another year right there. And any university plans start in january, so it'll be at least 2.5, probably 3.5 years before I get /that/ degree. And I don't even want it; I have no real interest in that particular field, at least at the present time. I can go back and finish my IT degree; again, anywhere from six months to a year and a half before I can re-enroll (if at all) and then I have three years of coursework for a degree that, again, I don't really want. And at least in my eyes, pure IT has no real future; while there are IT jobs out there, there's far more graduates than jobs in the local area. IT, at least in my mind, is an added extra to make you more attractive to employers. For instance, if I get both, I can get an ag job, and use the IT degree to 'sweeten the pot', give me a head start on the other applicants. Because, let's face it, computer literacy is rapidly becoming an essential, and an IT degree is pretty convincing proof you know how to type and use Word and suchlike. So yeah, that's what I've got. Three years, more or less, until I graduate from whatever degree I decide to finish, and then apply for a job in an industry I have no real interest in, and/or have very few prospects in. Not what I call an appealing choice. Option two is to give up on uni as something I'm just never going to get right, and go for a more traditional career path; work my way up the job chain until I find something I like. But again, that's far from optimal... my nature is such that I find a rut, and I stay in it until forced to move. So I'm far more likely to end up in a vaguely tolerable job and stay there (like subway), solely because I can't be bothered clawing my way any further up the ladder. Not a good thing. My third option is to trash everything I've done before, and sign up for yet /another/ degree, in something I have some real interest/prospects in. It'll take me 3-5 years, depending on the degree, and I might be able to use some of my existing credits to shorten that... so the time investment isn't /that/ much more. Sub-optimal, but at this point I'm willing to eat my losses and move on. If I do that, I may yet salvage my future and turn it into something I'd /like/ to do, rather than what my poor decisions have forced me to do. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I'm leaning heavily towards option 3. Specifically, signing up for a law degree somewhere; in my (albeit limited and mostly hollywood derived) understanding, the cornerstones of law are a quick mind, an ability to read and comprehend vast quantities of data in a short timeframe, and find the one point or loophole you need, and the ability to bullshit. I have all of those; as far as my abilities in finding and exploiting (or patching) loopholes go, just speak to anyone I've gamed with. That particular facet of my personality is legendary in the right circles. And bullshit? Well, I think I can safely say that everyone is aware of my skills in /that/ arena. Sounds almost like it's meant to be, huh? Well, that's what I reckon, anyways. And I ain't alone; long ago, I had an iq/aptitude test thing, and it was strongly suggested then that I go into corporate (as opposed to courtroom) law. Maybe the guy was right back then... but it ain't the only option I have. I'm also seriously considering something in the more creative side; literature, or history, or similar. Perhaps even teaching, but I'm unsure on that count. Again, all things I have a definite ability and interest in (except the teaching... dunno there.. could probably do it, but dunno if I want to) and that are worth further investigation. We'll see how I go. On the more immediate front, I'm considering a second job. As things stand with me at the moment, I get 20-30 hours a week @ $12. Enough to pay my bills (if barely, at times) and keep me healthy(ish), happy, and amused. Ideally I want 35-40, with a regular weekly roster. That way I can flesh out my bank account, sort out my debts, and at least financially justify my leaving uni. And the regular roster... well, I'm getting seriously jacked off with the irregularity of things. I never know when I'm going to be free to do anything, how many hours I'll be working, what days I have off, ect, on a week-to-week basis. Makes it impossible to plan ahead. So my plan for the immediate future is to talk to my boss about that (The actual boss, not the manager - he's both useless and has a dislike for me) and see what can be done. If I can't get that or something similar, I'm going to start scouting the local 7-11s and such for graveyard work. There's at least five in the CBD, and given I currently finish at 11.30pm most nights, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to walk five minutes to a second CBD job, spend a half an hour sorting myself out, and then work through till 8am or whatever. Especially given that I rarely sleep before 5am anyways, so my sleeping pattern would be minimally affected. I don't work opening shifts at subway, and rarely work anything but the 5-11.30, so that wouldn't be affected either... I figure three or so graveyards a week, if I can land the job, would make a minimal impact on my day-to-day existence and make a sizable impact on my bank balance... in short, I win. Be a bit of a bitch to arrange a social life around, but given my social life almost entirely consists of weekly and fortnightly gaming meets... it ain't gunna be /that/ hard. But we'll see. First I have to speak with my boss, although the 7-11 option is probably the better of the two. Then I have to actually /find/ a job at a 7-11... not as easy as it sounds, I'm willing to bet, but ya never know. If it all goes well, I do the two-job thing till christmas, go south and hang with the family for a week or two, then come back up here, /hopefully/ get accepted back into uni for whatever-the-hell I decide to do, and drop whichever job I dislike the most/earn the least at/is hardest to work around the course in favour of uni, and work my way through the degree. Be nice if it works out that way, but far too many 'maybes' and 'ifs' in there for me to be happy with it. Ah well. As with all plans, it'll have a million modifications before it goes ahead (if at all)... but it's a good direction to start in... and the sort of planning I've neglected for far too long.